Dear Friends and Family, 

I want to thank those that participated in March’s book study. The book, The Choice by Dr. Edith Eger, was fantastic and I am grateful that Jen Goldwasser brought it to the group. I am grateful for the discussion, which always leaves me with food for thought. Thank you to those that reached out to me out of concern.

What struck me as a minister and someone that advocates for social change and for people actually to have a “new thought” was Dr. Edith’s “choice” for her own healing to move forward in life. The stories of her counseling were brilliant and perfectly in line with Science of Mind. I plan to borrow some of her practices to help those that seek me out for spiritual counsel.

As a woman of color, what stuck with me is the obvious unwarranted cruelty towards a group of people simply because of their religion, culture, and ethnicity. As I stated in our discussion, the good news for that time in history is that it is over. History can never be erased; however, Germany realizes the wrongdoing and acknowledges the mistreatment and deaths caused. You cannot even display a Swastika in Germany (there is a penalty of 3 years in jail). As I said, you can never erase history, but you can move towards healing the division.

This brings me back to present-day America. The Americans modeled and taught the Caste system to Nazi Germany. America, the land of the free. It is 2021, and I turn on my tv to watch what looks like a modern-day lynching, where Asian-Americans are currently still mistreated and are walking in fear, where our Native Americans, whose land was stolen, live in poverty on “reservations” or tribal lands in substandard housing and with substandard means of all things, black and brown people are in prison for years often unjustly (the time doesn’t fit the crime), many aren’t afforded the education and opportunities.

I am just scratching the surface here, and so my point is that the system is not designed for freedom and success for all. The book pointed out to me that I believe that many of my brothers and sisters might prefer choosing the right (death) instead of the left (life). Although all this is happening right now, the disheartening thing is that many choose not to look at it, so I sometimes wonder if all the effort is worth it.

As I stated last Sunday, I am here to be courageous, loving, and authentic; therefore, this is why I wrote this. I do not know what will come about, and I live in the possibility of maybe today people will choose to be who they really came here to be. Today might be the day that All of my brothers and sisters, the ones who have the same skin color and those who do not, choose to wake up, show up, grow up, and live up to the expressions they were meant to be.

Until further notice, this is where I choose to live.

Thanks again to all that are involved and leaning into the uncomfortable that is where growth happens. I am forever grateful for your love, your support, and your willingness to do the work.

Namasté,
Rev Staci